Help the new guy plan his first cocktail cabinet

[Marsupial]

When you get into a new hobby, there's always a few quotes that sets the tone...

Think about your gaming preferences first, rather than just trying to add things to impress others or just to fill space.

I would like to have Pong to play with the kids, but will play arkanoid from one of the ends for sure (spinner) and the main reason I want the trackball on the side is missile command. Should I get a 2" trackball? Missile command from a joystick is just not as friendly. Yes, it was the atari 2600 version that introduced me to the game, but the trackball version is just a lot better.

Was there ever an arcade version of the paddle jedi game on the atari2600?

[Turnarcades]

2" trackballs are OK for smaller applications but will not mount as nice as the U-trak so you will need to either use their top-plate or do some constructive mounting to hide it. They are somewhere between a 3" trackball and PC trackball mouse in feel, with no real free-spinning but large enough to use your palm or a few fingers comfortably. As long as it's set up to the correct sensitivity (you can adjust this in MAME on a per game basis) the Missile Command should play just fine. Also consider that an accurate trackball like a 2" trackball can also be used well in light gun games to move the cursor.

Unsure what you're refering to about that other game though...

[Marsupial]

Thanks for the info! I will likely go for those smaller trackball; thinking mainly about room on the CP.  I am having a hard time figuring how they would feel.

I googled that other game, I don't think it was made out of the 2600. sadly.  We didn't own that game, but friends did; I'd be fairly happy to add it to the cocktail collection.

[Marsupial]

Thanks to the helpful hints I got from all you guys, I have started to make design choices, and to acquire some components.

I already have in-hand:
3/4" MDF in suffisent quantity (leftover from other furniture, in suffisent quantity (to confirm form plans bellow))
computer: athlon 1700+ w/ wifi card / HDD (I tried a few games and they played great)
monitor: 19inch samsung VGA (tried MAME and it looks great)
midway coin door (used, but very nice for its age)
two plastic coin mecs (modified to accept .984 tokens)
coin bucket (just so there's something to gather them coins...)
8-way joysticks bat-style (twice) (used but great looking)
4-way joysticks ball-top (twice) (used but great looking) those are mecanically restricted

In the mail:
a bunch of black buttons + switches (going for a classy black look)
500 japanese .984 tokens (hope the size is as described, or I'll have to further modify the coin mecs)

In the making:
homebrewn spinners x2 over a ps2 mouse  (got trackball encoder wheels from GGG and large knobs)
3-d model / plans


I decided to make 2 front-facing 4-way CP and one 2-player side CP with 8-way joystick.
I also decided that the side CP would have trackball, while the side CPs would have each a spinner. However, I am trying to make my own.

Here's some sketchup model. I have no credit for this, I only started to use sketchup today, and started from a pacman cocktail model that I modified.
I still have to alter for my monitor to fit in there, this will help planning. The buttons also will have a different (ergonomics round?) layout. This is just to help planing, not final layout.  




I am still in the planing phase and in no rush to get that started, I am moving this month...

[apfelanni]

ud better use a 8 way stick with 4 way flip in ur vertikal panels. otherwise u will be permanent cut off all the great lowres shooters , like donpachi , esprade ...

[Marsupial]

maybe I don't understand your comment... ?

I am planing on using the 8-ways on the horizontal side, and the 4-ways on the vertical side.

[danny_galaga]

The benefit of using the 360 is that you won't have to switch between 4-way and 8-way or 2-way or 45 degree 4-way, etc.  Whatever game you load up the 360 will automatically act the way it should.  It is a great stick.  Also, I find that it is best not to confuse your guests - the stick should just work when they play. 

I didn't know that. Good to know for when I build an upright one day 

The one you linked to looks like it is switchable only from underneath your CP with a restrictor plate or something which means you would have to open it up every time you switched from say Pac-Man to 1942.  This would be highly annoying.  If you just used an 8-way you would not be able to really play any 4-way games with precision.  For example, if you were using an 8-way and playing Donkey Kong and pressed a diagonal (which you would be doing all the time), Mario would just freeze because he wouldn't know whether to go up or left.

Yep, that looks like a Sanwa. Excellent sticks. But only switchable by loosening a screw and turning a restrictor plate. I have these on my cocktail. I just leave them as 8-way and live with not being able to play a couple of games very well. Occasionally when i want to really hammer Pacman or summink, I'll change it to 4-way...

[Marsupial]

minor update.

I already have in-hand:
3/4" MDF (leftover from other furniture, in suffisent quantity (to confirm form plans bellow))
computer: athlon 1700+ w/ wifi card / HDD (I tried a few games and they played great)
monitor: 19inch samsung VGA (tried MAME and it looks great) might change to a 21 inch
midway coin door (used, but very nice for its age)
two plastic coin mecs (modified to accept .984 tokens)
coin bucket (just so there's something to gather them coins...)
8-way joysticks bat-style (twice) (used but great looking)
4-way joysticks ball-top (twice) (used but great looking) those are mecanically restricted
23 black buttons (20grams) + switches
2x 1p buttons + 2x 2p buttons + switches
500+ japanese .984 tokens
hinges, clips, various other hardware

+ extra buttons of various colors
+ one pink chinese joystick
(those will likely end up on another cab)

In the making:
homebrewn spinners x2 over a ps2 mouse  (got trackball encoder wheels from GGG and large knobs)
3-d model / plans


What I still need to get:
trackball.  I am looking for a 2.25 inch.
buttons interface. I think the u-HID from ultimarc would work wonders.

[Marsupial]

I am having second toughts.

When I started planing this project cab, we were still in the early planing of the move to our new house.
Now that we've moved (big word, still in boxes) and I see the actual room, I am less certain I want a cocktail.
Plus, the idea of having vid cabinets grew a lot in the better half's mind

I could easily put 2 standups, maybe 3, in the room taken by this one cocktail. I think I'd actually like the look and feel of 3 games in the single room, plus more people could play at once.

I think I'll make a minicab for the kids, one driving, and one larger cab for adults.

It only means more work, and some more material

[Turnarcades]

Cocktail cabinets hold nostalgia for many with their unique look, but do tend to be impractical for a lot of people. Most tend to cut their teeth with an upright build first anyway so maybe you should go down that route and establish what games you tend to favour, before going for more involved designs.

[Marsupial]

I personally have no nostalgia over cocktail cabinets; I have never seen one anywhere. The arcades in my area all had uprights.

The two factors that was pushing me toward making an cocktail table was
1- the classy factor - helping convincing the better half to get one.
2- I already have suitable material for making one.

plus, I didn't think cocktails would be more complex.
But, really, for nostalgia sake, I think I'll prefer making an upright... plus I promised my daughter that I'd make a toddler-sized princess-flavoured minicab for her... so I pretty much HAVE to go with a row of uprights.  Anyway, since I started to acquire the parts for the cabinet, visiting other's gaming rooms and all, the better half started to really want to get her own driving cab!

The project did serve a purpose even if I decide to change my plans.


now, if I could find a set of plans for an upright cabinet that is not made with one straight piece on the sides, I'd be all set to start working my upcoming personnal upright!

[Turnarcades]

now, if I could find a set of plans for an upright cabinet that is not made with one straight piece on the sides, I'd be all set to start working my upcoming personnal upright!

This being the case, have a look at mameroom.com's Ultimate Arcade II, which uses a two-piece, overlapping side design enabling it to be built with smaller wood pieces. If that's too big, get the plans and scale them down as you need them.

[Marsupial]

Thanks!
that's exactly the type of plans I was trying to locate.
It seems I was finding tons of plans when I was looking for cocktail plans, but now I can't find any of them

two-piece seems the best way out, and it makes a nice overall look.

[Marsupial]

I ended up finding a project cab for a fair price. So I will be altering an Operation Wolf instead of scratchbuilding. Should give me a head start! 

I started a project thread:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=104083.0